52 Books Every Girl Should Read Before High School

Do you have fond memories of reading as a little girl? Maybe you'd be curled up under a blanket, fighting to keep your eyes open so you could just get to the end of the chapter — no, the sentence. We definitely remember sneaking in pages after bedtime or even during class.

Think back to your own childhood and how important your favorite books — and their strong female characters — were to you. Which ones had the biggest impact? Did you laugh and cry with Little Women? Come of age with Sheila the Great? Enter a world of mystery with Nancy Drew?

The books your daughter reads will stay with her forever. She'll make friends with literary characters, learn empathy for others and discover places she's never been.

The 52 books featured in our list of classic and modern-day reads will introduce your Little Woman to an abundance of humor, love, drama and herstory. And, if you missed any of these growing up, now's your chance to dive into some of the best middle-grade kid-lit ever.

4
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'Caddie Woodlawn'

4/53
:'Caddie Woodlawn'

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Caddie Woodlawn is a young prankster who doesn't act very ladylike. She spends her days on the Wisconsin frontier rafting on the lake, visiting Indian camps and getting into all sorts of scrapes with her brothers.

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'The Secret Garden'

8/53
:'The Secret Garden'

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Mary Lennox is a rude little girl who spends more time with her servants than with her parents. When she loses them to all to cholera, she is sent to live with her uncle. There, she discovers The Secret Garden and all of the secrets it holds.

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'The BFG'

10/53
:'The BFG'

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The BFG is a big, friendly giant who doesn't seem all that friendly… at first. He kidnaps a young orphan named Sophie and takes her from London to his own land. The BFG means no harm — every kid who reads this book will wish she had a giant of her own.

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'A Wrinkle in Time'

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:'A Wrinkle in Time'

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A Wrinkle in Time tells the story of awkward high schooler Meg Murry's adventure through space and time with her brother Charles and friend Calvin. The trio must overcome major challenges and face evil forces to rescue their scientist father, who's being held prisoner on another planet.

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'From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'

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:'From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'

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When Claudia Kincaid and her brother Jamie run away from home, they find themselves living in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There, they meet the woman who sold a priceless statue to the museum. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is the mystery of the story surrounding the statue (and its seller).

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'Anne of Green Gables'

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:'Anne of Green Gables'

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Anne of Green Gables is Anne Shirley, an orphan who is sent to work on the farm of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. The Cuthberts wanted a boy, but find Anne is smart, strong and energetic. The story follows Anne through her hardships to her ultimate success.

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'Because of Winn-Dixie'

20/53
:'Because of Winn-Dixie'

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Because of Winn-Dixie follows India Opal Buloni's life in a Florida trailer park where she lives with her father, a preacher. While exploring the Winn-Dixie supermarket, India meets a scruffy dog, claims it as her own and names it Winn-Dixie.

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'Island of the Blue Dolphins'

22/53
:'Island of the Blue Dolphins'

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Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on a true story from the 1800s. When young Karana's village is attacked by the Aleuts, her father and many others are killed. Her tribe sets out for a new land, but Karana stays behind and survives — completely on her own — for 18 years.

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'Number the Stars'

24/53
:'Number the Stars'

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Number the Stars takes place when WWII's German troops begin relocating Denmark's Jews. The Johansen family takes in their 10-year-old daughter's best friend and conceals her by pretending she is part of their family.

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'Harriet the Spy'

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:'Harriet the Spy'

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Harriet is an expert little eavesdropper. She walks her daily spy route and writes down everything she sees and hears about people in a notebook. It's all good until her classmates discover the notebook — along with every nasty thing she's ever written about them.

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'Coraline'

26/53
:'Coraline'

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Coralineisn't very excited when her family moves into a new apartment until she discovers a locked door in the drawing room. When she's finally able to get into the forbidden room, she finds herself in a parallel universe — except for her terrifying "Other Mother." To return to the real world with her real parents, Coraline will need the help of a mysterious cat.

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'Julie of the Wolves'

27/53
:'Julie of the Wolves'

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Julie of the Wolves is the story of Miyax, a 13-year-old Alaskan native girl. Bound to marry a man she detests, Miyax runs away to find her father, who went missing on a hunting trip. When she becomes lost in the wilderness, Miyax's survival is dependent on a pack of wolves.

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'Matilda'

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:'Matilda'

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Matilda is sweet and bright — her family is not. As she struggles to deal with grumpy parents, a bratty brother and an unfair principal, Matilda will seek help from a kind teacher and learn to use some interesting special powers.

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'Inkheart'

30/53
:'Inkheart'

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Inkheart introduces the reader to Meggie and her father, a bookbinder who can read characters right out of a book. When he unwittingly releases an evil ruler, Capricorn, out of the bounds of fiction, the tyrant lands right in Meggie's own living room!

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'The Witch of Blackbird Pond'

31/53
:'The Witch of Blackbird Pond'

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Orphan Kit Tyler hates her colony in Connecticut and desperately misses her sunny home in the Caribbean. She feels suffocated by her strict relatives but finds a sense of freedom in the meadows, where she befriends the witch of Blackbird Pond. But terrible things happen when their friendship is discovered.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (ages 9 – 12), $7 at Amazon

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'The Westing Game'

32/53
:'The Westing Game'

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Sixteen people assemble for the reading of millionaire Sam W. Westing's will and learn they must compete to find out who murdered their benefactor. The winner of the contest, The Westing Game, will inherit $200 million and the Westing Paper Products company.

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'Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'

34/53
:'Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'

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Cassie and her large family live in Mississippi. Victims of the Great Depression, the family struggles to keep their farm. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was inspired by author Mildred D. Taylor's own father and grandfather.

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'When You Reach Me'

35/53
:'When You Reach Me'

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When You Reach Me follows the relationship of Miranda and Sal. The best friends love living in and exploring New York City. When their friendship starts to go downhill, Miranda receives a mysterious letter with a very strange request.

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'Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great'

39/53
:'Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great'

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Sheila Tubman, otherwise known as Sheila the Great, is actually a coward who suffers a lot of phobias. When her family decides to spend the summer in Tarrytown, New York, Sheila finds herself faced with fears she didn't even know she had.

Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great by Judy Blume (ages 7 and up), $6 at Walmart

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'Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus'

40/53
:'Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus'

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Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus is the first in a series of 31 hilarious books for first- and second-grade readers. In the first book, the "almost" 6-year-old starts kindergarten and narrates the experience as only spunky Junie B. can.

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'The Secret of the Mansion'

41/53
:'The Secret of the Mansion'

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Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion is the first in the Trixie Belden series of mysteries. When 13-year-old Trixie's friend moves into Manor House, they discover another friend, Jim, living inside. Together, they work to locate the fortune hidden in the mansion before Jim's evil stepfather finds it.

Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell (ages 8 and up), $20 at Biblio

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'Smile'

42/53
:'Smile'

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When Raina trips and falls after a Girl Scouts meeting, she suffers major damage to her two front teeth. The sixth grader must undergo a long journey of embarrassing treatments, including braces, headgear and a retainer with fake teeth. And these are the least of her worries! The last thing Raina wants to do these days is Smile.

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'Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life'

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:'Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life'

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In Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life, our narrator shares all the deets about her new school, a new mean girl and a new crush. The diary entries feature fun sketches and doodles too. The first book will set you up for the 11 books that follow.

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'Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist'

45/53
:'Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist'

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Franny K. Stein is an outcast. Her classmates don't know what to make of this girl who's always acting strangely and conducting experiments. Readers will laugh every time Franny finds herself in yet another impossible situation.

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'Whatever After #1: Fairest of All'

47/53
:'Whatever After #1: Fairest of All'

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When kids get sucked into a magic "mirror on the wall," they find themselves inside Snow White's fairy tale. The travelers meant well when they stopped Snow White from eating that poisoned apple, but now how will she ever meet her prince and live happily ever after?

Whatever After #1: Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski (ages 8 – 12), $5 at Amazon

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'Culloo'

50/53
:'Culloo'

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In Culloo, Tala's father is missing again, and the welfare officer is knocking at the door. The 13-year-old girl has just hours to find her father before she and her brother are placed in a foster home. Her search takes her to secluded woods where she has to get to her father before angry bear poachers beat her to him. Can the froglike people and giant blackbird help?

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'Ella Enchanted'

51/53
:'Ella Enchanted'

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Ella just wants to be herself. Unfortunately, when she was born, a foolish fairy gave her the "gift" of obedience, and she must obey even the most ridiculous commands. The strong-willed girl sets off on a mission to break the silly curse — once and for all.